Thailand’s recently appointed Prime Minister is leading a push to establish a revolutionary six-nation visa concept that would allow international tourists the ability to travel seamlessly between Thailand and the fellow Southeast Asian nations of Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Bloomberg reports that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has already discussed the idea with his counterparts who have responded positively. A six-nation visa is seen as a means of making the region more attractive to international long-haul travellers and would likely see the visa validity period extended from the traditional 30-day period adopted in many countries to a longer 90-day period.
The six nations in question welcomed a combined 70 million tourists in 2023 but Thailand has made no secret of its desire to further leverage tourism as a means of boosting the economy, targeting 80 million foreign tourist arrivals to its shores alone by 2027.
Since taking power in August, the Srettha administration has already implemented a range of tourism-friendly initiatives including the signing of a reciprocal visa waiver deal with China and temporary visa waivers for arrivals from India, Taiwan and Kazakhstan.
Late last month the Thai House of Representatives approved a study by a 60-member House committee to establish legal casino gaming across the country, which has now been forwarded to the cabinet for final approval.
According to Bloomberg, Thailand’s tourism industry already accounts for around 20% of all jobs and contributes 12% of the nation’s US$500 billion economy.
